Billie Eilish "Your Power" | The Full Breakdown of Video and Lyrics

Welcome to my latest interpretation and commentary article! I am writing about non other than Billie Eilish's "Your Power" music video and song lyrics. It is my hope that I perform due diligence to her work because I respect and revere it grealty and it has been a personal help to me. So let's get into it!

Here is what I love about Billie and Finneas and the process by which they make music. Before "Your Power" even begins there is a component that sounds like someone sitting in a chair. It is obviously sound picked up by the studio microphone, but whatever it is I love the fact that it is a part of the song, because like with most songs, they just start. I get the feeling this elements is intentional and it says to me, "I need your attention". The visual I get is like that of a person stepping to a podium and tapping the mic to let the attendees know the program is getting ready to commence.  Ultimately, Billie wants my attention and while I initially do not know that "Your Power" is going to have a powerful message, by the end of the music video I know why she wants me to listen.

The song opens with the most beautiful guitar melody and strumming pattern which is allowed to breathe for some time before the vocals come in. It relaxes me when suddenly Billie enters on such a lovely pitich and phrase that stays with me the whole time. The song is accompanied by a landscape view of caramel colored mountains, ridges, and valleys. The mountains representing power, the climb to power, moving up in life, majesty, prominence, seeing things from a different viewpoint or perspective, and authority. The valleys representing lows, the starting place, and often times the dark and low periods of life. As the song continues, I am captivated by the scenery when suddenly Billie comes into focus as she sits on the side of the cliff of the mountain and it is exactly what it is, a "coming into focus" moment. It represents moments of realization, deep thoughts, revelations, introspection, and seeing things more clearly. The fact that she is sitting high up shows that she has not only been physically elevated, indicating the power she has received because of her career, but also consciously, meaning new revelations about past situations and interations with people both personally and professionally. Light has been shed on old information and new understanding has come. This brings emotional growth which is both hard to push through and freeing at the same time. 

During the pre-chorus we get the first glimpse of a large snake slithering across Billie, our character's lap. This snake also represents power, its actions, and the process by which it moves, very slow, steady and harmful over time. To look into this a little more I want to explain the nature of this kind of snake which may be a boa or python. They are called constricting snakes and when they find their prey they first attach themselves to them. A large snake moving in on its victim in the beginning does not seem as damaging, but as the snake continues, it coils around and around slowing restricting blood flow. The snakes knows how to detect if its prey is still breathing and with every heartbeat it squeezes tighter causing organs and the heart to receive less and less oxygen. The prey or victim eventually dies from suffocation, taking its last breath and when this happens the snake releases its hold. 

The visuals for the second chorus renders a lovely, widened view of Billie on the mountain overlooking the valley in front of her. The rocking back and forth is quite heart wrenching for me. I see in this character a person who has recently been awakened by the revelations of past situations and has come to a wise conclusion that power is being abused everywhere and in every way. There is disappointment and hurt within the body language of the torso doubling over as if being punched in the stomach. Pain lives there in that moment. Within the valley, I see this character's past, upbringing, situations, and interaction with people she knew or still may know. I see this valley as a dumping ground for all of those experiences and she is overlooking them from new and higher ground. I am a person who goes out to catch sunsets nearly everyday and spends time in mountainous areas. The higher you go the more you can see in totality. When standing at an intersection on a street I can only see the traffic lights and cars within my immediate view, but if go high up into a mountain and look out over the city, I can see all of the city lights for miles and miles. The viewpoint is more vast. The shots we get of the sky are very lovely, meant for beauty first, and is what you generally see whenever you drive to a look out and observe the beauty above, whether it be sunrises, sunsets, or a dreamy cloudy day. Sometimes there are no clouds, but typically this is what you find. I, myself, am from California as well, so I am familiar with this location where the video was shot. Continuing on though. Most people who habitually skygaze or stargaze are doing just that, looking up at the sky. In doing so there are energies of peace and hope that takes over the mind offering the feeling that everything will be okay. I believe that these clips of the heavenly clouds and sun indicate a glimmer of hope, or that there is still hope in the midst of, perhaps after abuse. 

During the second verse the snake, respresenting the actions of power, is becoming aggressive coiling itself around the victim more, moving up to the neck and wrapping itself around the throat. The lyrics, which I will address at the end, coincide with this visual perfectly. Here, we are talking about lies and deceit, someone claiming they didn't know something therefore not owning up to their part in the situation and placing the blame on someone else. This manipulation is now making the victim feel bound and unable to move or speak. But again, as I observe the third chorus I am taken to the heavelies again where there is a glimmer hope. This is the second reminder to not give up, but to push through and heal from past hurts. As the frames circle back down we get to our last line of the song that says, "...but power isn't pain" and with this lyric comes the visual of the character fully bound by the abuse of power and is completely paralyzed. From this point the camera zooms out just as it zoomed in in the beginning to bring me back to where I started. However, I should not be the same person as I was in the beginning. I should be a different person, of which I am. Billie the character is not even the same person as she was in the beginning. She goes from being free to being bound and what is crazy is the the "Mmm'ss" and "la la la la's" being sung at the end, ad libs usually associated with freedom and sunny days, shows that a person can be bound and not even know it. They can be bound and believe they are free. They can be bound and believe everything is all good until later they realize that they were being mistreated the whole time. Let's think very quickly. In the movies when a person is tied up to a chair being interrogated or tortured do they sing "mmms and la la las? No. They yell, scream, and call for help. I am moved as I just received a substantial message I can personally relate to and just as the zoom in was captivating, so is the zoom out when suddely there is a quick suction of breath and the picture goes black. Guys, that sudden breath is the last breath taken due to suffocation because of the abuse of power. In my final interpretation, the moral of the story is that those who abuse their power need to be shown what they are actually doing to people they prey on or victimize. While most abusers are self-centered and inward focused they are not aware that they are causing suffering, pain, hurt, and even physical, spiritual, or mental death, through the breaking of one's soul. 

Let's look at the lyrics (Genius Lyrics)

Try not to abuse your power
I know we didn't choose to change
You might not wanna lose your power
But havin' it's so strange

I am finding the chorus of "Your Power" to be quite conversational. I see two people who have grown in power talking to each other with one saying, "Hey, you know, try not to abuse your power because if you abuse it you can lose it if not handled with care". This is a full blown command, period. A pointing of one's finger to Billie herself and to everyone else in positions of power or those who will eventually gain power of their own. LISTEN TO THIS MESSAGE. In the line "You know we didn't choose to change" says that change just is. It is inevitable. We did not choose to go from powerless to powerful, but we did and now we have to be responsible with what we have. No matter what things always change whether you want them to or not. The last line is clear, "...but having it's so strange" Billie has always talked about how strange it is to be in the position she is in and I believe this line is fully reflective of how she feels.

[Verse 1]
She said you were a hero
You played the part
But you ruined her in a year
Don't act like it was hard
And you swear you didn't know (Didn't know)
No wonder why you didn't ask
She was sleepin' in your clothes (In your clothes)
But now she's got to get to class

In the first and second verses we get a sneak peak into some specifics on how power is misused within the context of a relationship. While I am sure Billie has pulled from personal experiences and the experiences of others, the main idea here is that manipulation of power has everything to do with diverse forms of relationships. There are always two or more parties involved. "She said you were a hero, you played the part" says a lot about how one party can be completely innocent and naive seeing something that really is not there. Heroes are saviors, they are good people with superhuman strength whose mission is to stop all the bad guys. The other party steps into the role of what the other person perceives them to be but really, it's a smoking mirror. When the smoke clears, the true colors of the person is revealed. "But now she's got to get to class" is a powerful line. This is an outright statement against underage relationships which have been taking place for decades. When I was 16 I had a boyfriend who was 20 whom I met dancing on Soul Train okay! lol. I will give no details of that time, but will say that the key thought here is "underaged". This is addressing situations where adults abuse children as well, both girls and boys. In the second verse the lines, "Does it keep you in control? For you to keep her in a cage?" immediately makes me think of caged animals and while I know there are highly ill people who keep individuals locked up in basements, cages, and vaults, psychological manipulation puts people in mental cages as well. It puts the heart and soul in a cage and they feel as though they can not get out. This is why it is difficult for many women to leave abusive relationships. 

[Pre-Chorus]
How dare you?
And how could you?
Will you only feel bad when they find out?
If you could take it all back
Would you?

[Chorus]
Try not to abuse your power
I know we didn't choose to change
You might not wanna lose your power
But havin' it's so strange

I thought that I was special
You made me feel
Like it was my fault, you were the devil
Lost your appeal
Does it keep you in control? (In control)
For you to keep her in a cage?
And you swear you didn't know (Didn't know)
You said you thought she was your age

[Pre-Chorus]
How dare you?
And how could you?
Will you only feel bad if it turns out
That they kill your contract?
Would you?

"How dare you? How could you?" Listen, if there is one person who can gently call out users, it is Billie Eilish. These two lines iterally are telling abusers they are scumbags, period! They put puppet masters in their place and if anyone is an abuser and gets approached with these questions they should feel convicted and then start the process of becoming less of an egotistical and power grabbing idiot. In both pre-choruses where the question is asked, "Will you only feel bad...", suggest secrecy and keeping things in the dark. If what was transpiring came to light a person's career, family, friends, their whole public life would be affected. Also, just about all manipulation and abuse of power is done undisclosed often times never to be revealed and this is why people commit suicided over the the untelling of souls. 

[Chorus]
Try not to abuse your power
I know we didn't choose to change
You might not wanna lose your power
But power isn't pain

The last line in this song, "But power isn't pain", is one of the most sturdy. When I really thought about this lyric I said to myself, when has the word 'power' ever come up in culture and conversation and people not think of it in a negative way? When has anyone thought of power positively? The final thought here is that just because someone has power does not mean they have to use it to cause pain to others. Power can be positive, useful, and helpful to others if managed properly and it is that simple. Power does NOT have to hurt anyone. 

Let's talk about the 22 seconds of silence. The video ends right at 4 minutes and there is 22 seconds of a black screen. Many are spectulating a few theories. I will let them have their theories. For me, I first understood something very simple, and guys, honestly, I mean seriously, it is not even that deep. The online world inundates us with an abundance of online advertisement. Most of us watch new videos on the YouTube platform and at the end of each video comes another video to click or advertisement immediately following. Billie does not want anything to distract you from the messege she has just given. There are no "next video to watch" ad overlaying her own. She knows she has just given a very strong message and visual and she wants you to take time to process it instead of being drawn to something else right away. I then thought about some of Billie's other self-directed films and recalled that she has always given a little space for processing with a few seconds of black screen, one being about 15 seconds. But why 22 seconds and not more or less? I decided to look into Biblical numbers, which I am not well versed in, to see if there was anything that made sense to me. By the way my assigned number is 44 and 444, but that is a whole different story. 

What is certain is this:

Video ends at exactly 4 minutes: 4

Black screen is exactly 22 seconds: 22

Diving into the number 22 I am getting references to Biblical kings who ruled in an unpopular fashion. They were not liked by the people. Words that stand out relating to my short research are authority, rulers, power, unpopular, tyranny, relationships, and spirtual development. Studying numbers can be very time consuming, so this is just a surface information. For all I know the end of "Your Power" contains 22 seconds just because it wants to. I would suggest looking to the theory of 22 seconds on your own and seeing what you come up with. 

Thank you so much for reading my article. I hope you found it informative, useful, and life-changing. I am a huge fan of Billie Eilish and if you would like to follow my fan page on Instagram just click the follow button at @billiexbrandy_vocalverse Adios!

2020 BET Soul Train Music Awards Takes the Cake!

I found no flaw in this year's 2020 BET Soul Train Music Awards. Let me say that again. I found no flaws, not one, during this year's 2020 BET Soul Train Music Awards ceremony.

First, I want to congratulate all the winners and nominees. I am not sure how to put my finger on it, but this award show was strategically perfect from the pre-show to the main show, to the after party. I am aware that with events like these, as soon as they are done, planning for next year has already begun. It is evident from the final broadcast that there are people in the background that are fully on one accord and know to the fullest extent what they are doing. They have maintained what works and in the midst of COVID made adjustments for the benefit of the artists as well as everyone else in attendance, including not making the TV audience feel cheated of a transcending and energetic musical experience. 

The intentional display of black love by Soul-Coming Pre-Show hosts, husband and wife team, Flex and Shanice, carries a strong message of faith, family, and tradition, upheld by the black community for generations. The "I love Your Smile" powerhouse singer and sexy Black actor became a hit with audiences many years ago with their first hosting of the BET Honors ceremony around 2012 and have since become a staple in hosting many BET events. The pre-show also exhibited up and coming and established artists like Infinity Song and Skip Marley, in super vibey performances with beautiful backdrops that paid homage to the style of Soul Train from years past, Infinity Song, a family group of siblings wearing afros and 70's style clothing. The beautiful tiered performance system, from the pre-show artists to the amplified artists on the US Army stage, which are given about half the time of the main artists, and then to the main artists themselves, served its purpose in making sure that a plethora of artists could be seen, heard, and exposed to a wide television audience. Sponsorship placement and announcements were far from overbearing and cleverly incorporated into the show with comical punch lines instead of numerous commercial breaks. I don't eat Cheez Its because I am vegan, but it was all so memorable and very cute. 

Location, location, location. You know the mantra. And shall I say vibes, vibes, brick wall jazz lounge vibes? Google showed that the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California would be the location in which the 2020 BET Soul Train Music Awards would be held. However, unless this was a side lounge within the facilit it appeared that the ceremony was held in a different "historic" location according to R&B Princess Brandy. This award show came with an elegant black dress code for a physically distanced mini audience as well as the entertainers. Cocktail tables and lounge booths were perfectly placed for the masked attendees, with centerpieces and, what my eyes may have caught, candles. What I was most proud of was that the performers were given much needed physical onlookers and cheerleaders besides just TV viewers. Unlike parts of the American Music Awards and other virtual awards shows (not going to lie, the BET Awards Show earlier this year was moving and powerful as one long variety show music video), there was never a feeling that you were sitting in a dress rehearsal. The AMA's had a socially distanced audience, but way up high in the balcony when they could have been distanced on the orchestra level for the artists to feed off of more. Believe me, I get it. I know these organizations have five to ten years contracts where these venues are paid for well in advance, but I loved the fact that the Soul Train Awards were held at a smaller venue with the perfect aesthetics to showcase complete essence of Black culture and music. Another plus was the house band accented with two background singers, one male, one female, who also wore classy black and black face masks. One band to play for all. Easy, smart, perfect. 

Listen, I loved every single performance and every single speech. They were well written, well read, thoughtful, and vulnerable. There seemed to be a fairness amongst the artists who were nominated and who won. No popularity contest here, but later we will talk about Summer Walker and her Album of Year win. The performances showcased a variety of music styles from Ella Mai's sultry mood to CeeLo Greens wild and funky dance tune. Brandy gave me whimsical wizardly conducting and opened that vocal bible which had me moaning and groaning with a scrunched up face, while the Atlanta diva herself, Monica, killed it, performing past hits that made me feel nostalgic, then had me up cutting a rug to her new single "Trenches".  Moses Sumney. Do I need to say more? Um, yes I do. Look, I've been following him on Instagram for a very long time and he is one of the few humans on the planet that make my mouth salivate. I was so proud to see him on the Amplified artist stage showcasing his beauty, style, and voice. And, I can never fall out of love with the smooth vocal stylings of Smokey, Babyface, and uncle Charlie. I tell you, by the time the final award of the night for Album of the Year was presented I didn't want the ceremony to end. 

Last but never least, are the triple threats themselves, childhood to adulthood friends who met at an audition as little girls, Tichina Arnold and Tisha Campbell. From the theater stage to television and more these ladies have yet to receive their flowers in my opinion. For three years now they have been hosting the BET Soul Train music awards and it has been a win win for all. I love seeing them together in comedic fashion while displaying all of their talent. They are the epitome of black performance of the past, present and hopefully the future if we can continue to bring powerhouse singers to the light.  

Most of all, there was a no political propaganda and I was there for it! No Biden, no Trump, no BLM fest, an organization that does not represent majority of the Black community anyway. Most commercials were geared toward uplifting the beauty of the little black girl and blackness in general. Themes throughout the estimated three hours, from the Soul-Coming pre-show to the Pass the Mic post show highlight included using your voice to be heard, being who you are, family, hope, love, and great music. There was no one-sidedness, no negativity, nor the putting up or down of particular people. It was unapologetically high-end, decadent, first-rate, and superior! By the time the Pass the Mic highlight ended, which I just learned about Sunday evening and thoroughly enjoyed, I was smiling and full of buzzing energy. I also thought about how thankful I was to the sponsors and advertisers who took part in making the BET Soul Train Music Awards what they were. I thought about decades of yore, even before I was born, when the black community received no mainstream marketing and advertising, event sponsorships or promotions, when black communities were ignored because they were not seen as relevant to the consumer market. I mean, how long did it take for cosmetic companies to actually make color foundations for ALL black women skin tones. I was in high school myself when I remember Lancôme having two shades only for black women. It was one of my favorite cosmetic brands and the department store representative looked at me and tested the darkness color on my skin. I ended up buying the next color up because it was my only choice, just to get home and have my brother tell me my face looked green. The next day I returned the foundation. You get my drift right? Many of us who are old enough have had many experiences like this, trying to shop in places that underserve us. Somewhere, somehow, and with data as proof, white American corporations realized the value of the black dollar, the black vote, and black prosperity and success. Somewhere along the way our spending was realized and became very important and it is an honor to be seen as valuable. I see this as a plus and if we as a community can strategize on how to leverage our spending even more than we can experience even more return on our output. We will talk more on this later, in another journal entry perhaps?

So, if you have not seen the BET Soul Train Awards head over to BET.com for all the latest highlights and performances. I will see there. 

Billie Eilish vs The Fandom | Let the Prank Wars Begin! Will They Continue?

"Name another artist that gets into prank wars with her stans- I'll wait..." were the words of @bilsdemons, one of many Billie Eilish fan accounts. My response?

And it's true. Billie Eilish is lucky to be seventeen right now with a fan base of mostly little ladies of her same generation. Not only that. She is unique in the fact that she has somehow gone from playing with friends throughout her Highland Park and surrounding Los Angeles neighborhoods to playing with "friends" around the world. I call it playing in the Fanbox together. While she is already becoming a case study for other record labels outside of her own, she has made a connection with Stans other artists have not come close to making. Honestly, it's unbelievably authentic and you know what, they are all watching and taking notes. 

We already know about her infamous hugs, that beautiful angelic voice, how she makes everyone cry during live performances, and also probably while sitting in their cars alone under the moonlight sky blasting "I love You" or "When the Party's Over". We also know how wild, crazy, and funny she is having the ability to make everyone feel like they are her sister, brother, or best friend. These days, I find it amazing that you can literally DM a "celebrity", like their photos, leave comments and actually get responses back within seconds or hours. Interaction is so immediate that the bridge between stardom and normal living is so much of a short distance it is as if we are actually living life together with the famous and not separate from them. When I was a little girl, you wrote a fan letter, usually by hand, folded it, licked the envelop, grabbed a stamp, actually drove to the post office to mail it off just to receive an autographed photo some time later. That was it. Billie on the other hand, like many artists, trolls the social media platforms, liking post, sharing stories and even commenting every now and then. Supporters have even shown up to meet and greets only to find out Baby Bil knows who they are already from looking through their grams. The girl is really paying attention and they are amazed! On the flip side she also manages to conjure up a scheme or two and the fandom LOVES IT, the fact that she is even thinking about something to get them good with. 

This past Saturday she pranked all of us which you can read here. But little did she know that two high profile fan accounts was plotting a comeback behind her internet back. I discovered everything that went down today at 11am after pulling into a parking space on campus. I looked at my phone and saw a live stream that @mini.billie.eilish posted. When I read the caption I went into hysterics! My first thought was, "Oh man! I missed baby Billie going live for the first time in like a year and a half!" Unfortunately, it was not Billie. It was the genius fan accounts @beanieeilish and @avocado.eyes.

With @avocado.eyes's idea @beanieeilish went to work. Here's is how she pulled the off the fake live.

Tyniya who manages the account @beanieeilish spent hours photoshopping a black screen to look exactly like Billie's Instagram page. (Man the kids are smart) She went live Sunday night thinking that only 50 people would join. There ended up being over 24,000 instagrammers viewing the fake live of Billie sleeping and farting. That's right, farting. Viewers figured Bille went live but did not know she was live and fell asleep. All you heard was snoring and farting. (Guys, I'm STILL laughing as I write this.)

The comments were to die for. People were so confused. They asked, "Is she sleep?", "Is she dead?" (Clearly dead people don't snore). When the fart happened all hell broke loose, crying emojis and LMFAO left and right spewed from keyboards. Just when I thought the prankster was unprankable. Come Monday, upon waking up, Billie discovered Saturday's prank had been returned and it was good! Baby girl then took to her IG stories and sent out, shall I say, a "humbling" message.

In the next two swipe lefts was a video of her shaking her head for a few seconds, rolling her yes, and finding humor in it all.

She goes on to say: "Yall got me back. It's okay, I deserve it, but I'm gonna get you back real quick".(with a sly smile). "Don't you worry about it. Ta hee heeeeee!"

Then: "You really think my farts are weak like that? Hahaha! That's ain't me. Mine sound like a fucking bomb. Ahahaa!"

And so the prank wars begin. Or do they? Just a couple of hours ago I went back to Baby Bil's story and it was all deleted. Perhaps because suddenly seven video appeared on Youtube with the caption "Billie Eilish Farts in Sleep on Instagram Live". Oh no. In runs the team. But I am only speculating here. However, we are reminded that she is now a "professional artist". Boundaries and filters must be put in place. Or do they really NEED to be? I don't have the answers because I am not there working behind the scenes.

Currently, Stans are plotting another scheme to get Billie good. Will it go down and will Billie Bong actually come back strong, if at all? Generally, I think the pranking will all die down before it gets too out of hand. One Stan suggested that we organize a monthly prank for one day only. Phew! That's quite a commitment for a busy performer like Billie. I am glad everyone is just having fun in the Fanbox for now, considering I have not had this much fun since attending her concert at the Shrine in July. I guess we will have to wait and see what takes places in the next week or so.

UPDATE:

The prank wars will not continue. Unfortunately a group of people who call themselves fans began threatening Billie and her personal space. I will not mention all that was spoken of because I do not believe in putting that energy out there. Billie then posted a new story begging and pleading with the fandom to let it all go. The fandom won and she wanted to call a truce. (handshake emoji inserted). She said she would not return the prank, that she loved everyone and that she wanted to move on to something else. Overall, the weekend was fun and we had some good laughs.

Billie Eilish Pranks the Fandom and It's Hilarious

Saturday August 3rd began with a new addition to Billie Eilish's Instagram story. It was a snap of herself on a large billboard in New York City.  All seemed calm and fair throughout Instagram land and just like normal loving fans do, I grabbed my own screenshot and posted to my gram stating how proud I was of her.

On with my day, I spent the morning running errands and getting in that Saturday car wash.  Walking into to my boutique later than normal, I spent what hours I had doing some some creative work before meeting up with my girlfriend Wilma at 4:30pm. We were set to head out to Marina Del Rey, California to see a live summer concert with Kenner born Jon Batiste. We arrived, found our spot on the grassy hill right under the sun whose rays made the Marina Harbor sparkle like diamonds. The concert was wonderfully beautiful and the night was full. I even had my opportunity to dance with Jon Batiste when he brought the New Orleans style parade through the crowd. 

It was not until I got home that night, prepared for bed and laid down to check my Instagram that I realized something strange had taken place in the IG universe. Like I do nearly every night, I check out new Billie tags mostly searching for new photos, fan art, and the funniest memes that causes me to laugh myself to sleep. This time I came across a post that stated something interesting about a photo that was "accidentally" posted in Zoe Donahoe's Instagram story, one of Billie's best friends. The fan account urged people to stop reposting the photo because Zoe deleted it for a reason. I became concerned leaving a comment asking what the heck happened? Is Billie okay? The response was, "We don't know". 

After doing a little bit of digging I saw many posts and commentary about a photo of Billie that Zoe posted in her IG story that was possibly allegedly supposed to go to Zoe's close friends stories and not her public stories. However, after some minutes it was said to have been deleted. However, it only takes seconds for millions of people to grab a screenshot then hit the ground running.  From there I learned that the fandom went to work hard reporting the photo and getting "fake" fan accounts canceled that were posting the photo. They encouraged each other to post positive things like the photos of Billie I ran across that simply said "I love you so much" or "we love your so much". Even Zoe had inspired posts that said "Zoe it's not your fault". Someone even created a fake story insert that made it look like Billie posted a black screen saying "who's gonna start a gofundme for Zoe's funeral?". There was a fan account I ran across that was fairly new with only 7 posts, 4 followers, and they were following a little over 100 people. It seemed to me, and based off of other comments, people were starting new fan accounts that day trying to get follows and capitalize from this one photo. Fortunately, by the time I got to the Billie tags that night it was around 11pm and the photo itself had nearly disappeared. I figured the situation was mostly clearing up until I scrolled and ran right into it. Billie was in swimwear with a Playboy coverup and that is all I am going to say about it, nor will I include it in this article. Baby doll is cute though and full of fire.

So at least I had the opportunity to report at least one photo. What was so funny was that by the time it was midnight, at least in California, Billie posted an all new IG story. It began with this photo that included a revolving troll emoji. The original photo that was posted was completely from behind without her head turned. Here, she displays a sneaky smirk that had all of the fandom throwing their hands up yelling "She pranked us again!"

Swiping to the left there was a photo of her with a big cheesy grin. 

The third photo was of her and Zoe chilling in a room with big grins on their faces. 

For just a few moments Billie allowed the fandom to take it all in. Within seconds these photos were screenshot and posts and clown memes were going up like mad. Then finally Billie added to the story by writing a white screen message that said: 

See, Billie and Zoe conspired to post the photo on Zoe's IG story but only for a few minutes before Zoe deleted everything. Majority of the fandom responded with laughter and returned 'I love you(s)' and 'I love you more(s)', and of course immediately posting the bikini photos again of which Billie herself hearted. I know I was giggling so hard it was not even funny. And this was true for some of the fandom who commented that they felt embarrassed, like clowns, or hurt that she would prank them like this and was already making plans to get revenge. From one post I ran across, all the work the fandom put in that day accounted for over 700,000 photos and accounts being reported and canceled. Hmm, I wonder what Instagram thinks of all of this.

Overall, the way I look at the the whole ball game is Billie, as an artist can simply go about her day knowing she has fans but not really worried about playing in the fanbox (yeah I just made that up) with them. She could be totally professional and only do what's latest and greatest in social media marketing, but she and Zoe literally took the time to troll the fandom all day to see what everyone would do and I believe in the end she knows that the fandom, we, I, truly love her, cares about her and wants to protect her, sword and armor. However, she will be 18 soon and of course other ages thereafter which means she will continue to do what she is comfortable doing when ever she is ready to do it and sometimes that will mean a photo or two of her not so fully clothed, and also us just letting her do what she wants. 

Truth be told, as far as the skit itself, it is not anything to take seriously as some fans have. However, as a Billie fan who is 30+ I would only be concerned about the stupidity of mainstream media and the photo getting in the wrong hands and possibly media manipulators coming for her. Next thing you know her ass will be all over the tabloids, literally. But hey, perhaps that will never happen and if it does, and she does not mind her bum being splattered next to O Magazine and packages of bubblegum at the grocery checkout, we will just have to remember what the Baby says, "One day I will die and non of this will matter".  

As far as the general demographic of the fandom which is from age 0 to 19 they are very impressionable and are not thinking this way when still posting the photo. I do spend time commenting and talking with some of the fan accounts without being too serious. I am just hoping to bring balance really. Truth be told on IG as well as You Tube many of Billie's older fans who are 30+, I sense feel bad that they are old but love her. Well, I am here to say, guys calm down. The older fans relate to those wonderful Billie lectures from interviews and if you are not overly adulting then you can get down and laugh at the pranks too which I believe Billie would rather you do no matter your age. 

To shut it all down, Billie and Zoe were having lots of fun on Saturday August 3rd. It was quite a wild ride and if I had caught it form the beginning I would have been reporting photos just the same, I think.